What if the Doha Round Fails? Implications for Canadian Agriculture

Many commentators assume that the WTO Doha Round negotiations have already failed and that this failure will not matter for Canadian agriculture. Neither view is correct. Most countries appear willing to make the effort needed to bring the negotiations to a make or break point in early 2008. If the Doha Round does eventually fail, an important opportunity to make the agricultural trading system significantly less distorted, more open and fair will have been lost. For Canadian agriculture, the failure to move the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) forward has more serious consequences than just missing the chance to improve the rules governing agricultural trade; it could signal a return to increased protectionism, more managed trade, a return to competitive subsidization, and an escalation in the number of trade disputes.